Elisabeth Moss Talks About the Mad Men Finale and Looks Forward to Season 6

Is there really any doubt that Peggy Olson is still part of the Mad Men universe? A few weeks ago, actor Jared Harris made a comment that suggested (vaguely, if read a certain way) that actress Elisabeth Moss had departed the show. The Internet's vast society of Mad Men obsessives immediately flew into a panic, wondering if creator Matt Weiner would dare to put Peggy out to pasture alongside a bald Paul Kinsey and a blue-faced Lane Pryce.

But we're not worried. Don Draper and Peggy Olson's arcs have always circled and crossed one another, like a strand of DNA. Peggy is part of the show's genetic makeup. Even if Moss were no longer present for every episode, her absence would be a character unto itself.

Of course, this being Mad Men, we couldn't actually ask Elisabeth Moss to clue us in to her character's fate. Matt Weiner's policy of absolute secrecy is fiercely respected by his cast, who have become expert verbal tightrope walkers over the past five seasons. Nonetheless, GQ had an illuminating conversation with the actress about Peggy's decision to leave Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, the state of affairs with Don, and, yes, the future of Peggy Olson, head copywriter.

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GQ: Last time we spoke, which was about halfway through Season 5, you said there was something that happened this season that totally took you by surprise. I'm guessing that was Peggy quitting?
Elisabeth Moss: [Laughs] Yeah, that's probably what it was.

GQ: Tell me how you found out that she was leaving the agency.
Elisabeth Moss: Matt called me, actually, to tell me, I think because he didn't want me to read it in a script and panic. I appreciated him doing that, because I think if I had just read it, I would have gone, "Whoa whoa whoa, what's happening?" So he called me, and at first I felt sad, because you get attached to an idea. But after about three seconds, I realized, you know what? There's no other place to go. That's the only way [Peggy] can grow, really, and I feel really lucky that Matt has taken the time to allow her to continue to grow, has taken her to new levels. The fact that she's continually being pushed, I feel very grateful for. I felt like it was a very logical thing to happen. I mean, what was she supposed to do: keep getting into fights with Don? Keep being frustrated? That's gonna get old. How many scenes can you have of her being disgruntled? I think it had to go somewhere.

GQ: That scene where Don threw the money at Peggy was pretty awful.
Elisabeth Moss: Yeah, that was pretty intense. Jon has mentioned how that was a little bit difficult for him, like throwing something at a kitten. [Laughs] But I think that it justifies her actions, it justifies her leaving. There needed to be that kind of thing to push her over the edge. And I think Don knows that he pushed her away. And that's definitely sort of a last straw moment; at the same time, there could have been something the following week that happened that would have been the last straw.

GQ: Looking back, do you see hints that Peggy was leaving?
Elisabeth Moss: Absolutely. You can tell from the very beginning. There are so many clues. The biggest is when Megan leaves, and the respect for Megan's decision to leave the agency. That's a massive, massive clue.

GQ: When Peggy showed up to the meeting with Ted, had she already resolved to take the new job?
Elisabeth Moss: No, I don't think she sets out knowing she's going to take the job. It's a very big, very scary thing for her to do; even to be meeting with him is sort of subversive. So I don't think she thinks she's going to leave necessarily, yet. But for five years, she's just been trying to get some respect, and all of a sudden this man who is also talented and powerful gives her some respect that she doesn't have to beg for. I think it's a novel concept to her that she could be wanted and desired and not have to beg for it or grovel for it.

GQ: I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more of a resolution between Peggy and Ken this season. I did talk to Aaron Staton after the finale, and he felt that Peggy saying "there's no pact" did resolve their story. How did you feel about how things were left between them?
Elisabeth Moss: Aaron and I have talked about it as well; we both kind of really have a soft spot for our relationship on this show. They've always had this strange link between them, even though there really shouldn't be any reason forthat. From Season 1—remember when they did the radio audition together? That scene where Peggy was mean to him was actually a bit difficult for me to do, because it's sad to see that happen. But I love those scenes together; they're always these little gems that pop up out of nowhere. And I think that they had some resolution, and I think it was in the way that Aaron played it: He understood what was happening, and he understood where she was coming from, and that it wasn't personal. I don't think there necessarily needs to be resolution, because I'm sure they'll see each other again.

GQ: Tell me about shooting your goodbye scene with Jon Hamm.
Elisabeth Moss: That was one of those things where you just—we didn't really talk about it, Jon and I. We didn't need to. We both knew what that scene was, and what those moments were, and that was it. We didn't do a lot of takes. It just is one of those things that, you don't want to mess with it too much. I don't want to sound too precious about it, but it was very emotional for both of us, because regardless of anything, it's the closing of a chapter. But it was also fun. You get those scenes and you're lucky to have them. Definitely my favorite scene to play of the season, and definitely one of my favorite scenes ever on the show.

GQ: When Don ran into Peggy later at the movie theater, did you get the sense that they were equals now?
Elisabeth Moss: I don't think that they're equals, necessarily, but it's the first time in five years that he's not her boss. It's funny 'cause we did that scene, and I didn't realize 'til afterwards that we'd never done a scene like that. That was the first time we did a scene where we were just friends. And it was a lot closer, actually, to what Jon and my relationship is, which is probably why I didn't notice that it was weird until afterwards. But afterwards, I was like, Why did that feel so different?

GQ: You've been on this show for more than five years now. If Peggy were looking back on this season as a year in her life, how do you think she would remember it?
Elisabeth Moss: You know, it's funny; the show has really oddly, especially the past couple of years, had a very strange way of paralleling my life. I think that this season was very big for her, and it felt like that for me as well, personally. I think that Peggy having to break out of that mold and having to change and having to grow up a little and move out on her own, it's something that we've all had to do at a certain point. It's a scary thing to do, but we've all had to kind of go there, and I could definitely draw parallels between me going off to New Zealand and working with Jane Campion on a thing that was very, very, very different from Mad Men, on the other side of the world. So there were definitely strange parallels that I was feeling about the end of that season, with Peggy leaving SCDP and then me leaving the country and going far away to have this new adventure. Very strange parallels in my life during the show. In Season 4, when we shot "The Suitcase," it was a little bit crazy. For me, I would look back on this season as one of her most pivotal. It's very big. Big steps for her.

GQ: Okay. I know better than to ask anyone from Mad Men about the future, but there's a lot of speculation about whether you're coming back to the show at all. Honestly, if you told me you weren't, I wouldn't believe you. That said, what can you tell me about Peggy's future in terms of the show? I'm just going to leave it open like that, and you can say or not say whatever you want.
Elisabeth Moss: [Laughs] Thank you. God, it's so funny, 'cause of course, I kind of know what's going to happen. Maybe I was being naïve, but I actually didn't anticipate having to answer this question. I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't realize that so many people would think that [Peggy was leaving]. Maybe it just comes from me knowing. So now I'm in this position of having to be really secretive about this, which I didn't anticipate having to do! [laughs] So now I have to be very secretive for the next however-long months, I guess? I almost feel like I just want to talk to Matt [Weiner] and say, can you give me something to say, and I'll just say this one line, and that will be my line and that's what I'm going to say? I might do that, actually. But I think that, yeah, apparently now I can't tell you. [Laughs] I think Matt said something online like, "Peggy will always be a part of Don's life"?

GQ: Yes. He said Peggy will always be a part of Don's life, and that this is the beginning of a new relationship.
Elisabeth Moss: Well, you can draw your own conclusions from my movements in the world at some point. If I'm in L.A. shooting Mad Men, then I guess they're not letting me go! But at the same time, honestly, I don't know exactly what's going to happen. I don't know how things are going to unfold or what the storylines are going to be. But honestly, the really cool thing that happened since Jared said that thing in the article, is that people have been really upset about Peggy leaving. Again, maybe it's me being naïve, but I didn't anticipate that. It's incredibly flattering! Like the worst thing that could happen is that nobody would care, you know? So it's honestly incredibly flattering that people don't want her to leave.